HES Energy Systems, the leading Fuel Cell Systems developer from Singapore has formed an Alliance with three French Clean Energy and Aerospace Tech companies. Named FLY-HY, the group’s mission is to begin addressing the global market as a unified value chain, ranging from hydrogen refueling systems to energy storage and power conversion, and cooperate with leading designers of electric aircraft.

The FLY-HY alliance will officially make its debut at the 2018 Singapore Airshow at H3 Dynamics (booth C18), HES’ parent company.

HES Energy Systems develops small-scale battery alternatives based on its special breed of ultra-light hydrogen fuel cell systems capable of storing energy at over 700Wh/kg, 3 to 4 times the electrical energy per weight of lithium batteries. “The hydrogen molecule is the lightest energy carrier in the universe. Meanwhile most of today’s electric aircraft research has been focused on work-arounds using much heavier lithium batteries. We see a clear opportunity to contribute to the exciting world of electric flight” said Taras Wankewycz, Founder & CEO of HES and parent company H3 Dynamics.

Thinking big yet starting small, HES started out increasing the flight endurance of small electric powered unmanned aircraft (UAVs) or drones, using its special lightweight fuel cell and hydrogen storage technology. The company has been working closely with numerous tier-one electric-UAV manufacturers and believes a scaled-up version of its products could also improve the flight range for personal mobility aerial vehicles as well as electric-powered passenger aircraft.

After operating for some time locally in France, H3 Dynamics decided to combine its “Made in Singapore” aerospace-grade hydrogen fuel cell capability with complementary “Made in France” high tech solutions, including novel electric UAV platforms (Toulouse-based Airborne Concept, backed by Airbus), hydrogen gas storage devices (AD-VENTA), and innovative hydrogen generating electrolyzers (ERGOSUP, backed by Air Liquide) which is now adapting its innovative systems to refueling small HES-powered hydrogen drones.

HES Energy Systems and ERGOSUP are also working in partnership with DELAIR, another French drone tech company, on project HYDRONE, a laureate of a French National Call for Projects “Territoires Hydrogène”. The national project aims to deploy five hydrogen drone and refueling systems capable of covering the entire French territory during 2018 and 2019.

This initiative also follows the launch of the Hydrogen Council in 2017, involving a number of high-profile companies including Air Liquide, Alstom, AngloAmerican, BMW Group, Daimler, Engie, Honda, Hyundai, Shell, Linde, Total, Toyota, Audi, General Motors, Statoil & Iwatani, working together to promote a new hydrogen economy and society.